What Uhuru Kenyatta’s US visit means for Kenya

A flurry of meetings organised for President Uhuru Kenyatta during the UN General Assembly this week shows how relations between Kenya and the US have thawed since his election last year.

The meeting that opens a month after President Kenyatta attended an African leaders conference in Washington where he met President Barack Obama will underscore the warming of relations between the two countries following his and Deputy President William Ruto’s election against a backdrop of ICC cases.

According to the President’s schedule seen by the Sunday Nation, he is fifth in line to address the 69th session of General Assembly on Wednesday.

He is also the key speaker at the African Heads of State meeting on government investment at the New York Stock Exchange.

REFUSED TO SEND DELEGATION

Last year Kenya refused to send a delegation to the annual meeting in what was seen as a protest against western countries for failing to support the Jubilee campaign.

The President sent Kenya’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mr Macharia Kamau to verbally inform UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon that Kenya would not be represented.

President Kenyatta cited the Kenyan ICC cases when he told Mr Ban he could not be out of the country at the same time Deputy President William Ruto was attending his trial at The Hague.

It was the first time in 50 years that the event was held without a Kenyan President present.

“The speech at the New York Stock Exchange to African leaders shows recognition after the Washington, DC meetings that shows Kenya as a pivotal player in international relations,” said a senior diplomat at the Kenyan mission in Washington who did not want to be named.

The President will be accompanied by First Lady Margaret Kenyatta, Cabinet Secretaries Amina Mohammed, Joseph Lenku and Dr James Macharia among other leaders.

Apart from UN meeting, the President is expected to chair meetings, give keynote addresses and hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders.

The President will also meet with Mr Ban, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of Malta, Prime Minister Ralph E Gonzales of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

“The high number of bilateral meetings confirms that contact with Kenya is essential,” the diplomat said.

On the sidelienes of the General Assembly, the President will attend the Inter Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) mini-summit on South Sudan and an East African Co-operation (EAC) mini-summit.

He is also scheduled to talk at the Regional Oversight Mechanism (ROM) meeting of the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the DRC and the Region as well as at a high-level meeting on Somalia.